The Knight Before the Dawn
by Vincent Sekod
Summary: Before "The Forgotten Son", Ultemicia's son, Max Caron was her Sorceress Knight. This story explains his life and trials before his meeting with Squall. How does one cope with two selves? Review if you like it!
1. My Son

Mwahahaahaaaa! I have returned! I felt like i had been away from this place for too long. This is kind of a prequel to "The Forgotten Son" This is the story of Max Caron before he met up with Squall and the gang. It is still in the FF VIII world of course.

First, last, and only disclaimer: I do NOT own Final Fantasy VIII or it's characters. I only own Max Caron.

On with the story!!!

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"You, my dear Knight." Cried a women veiled by a large white canopy. "Shall become the greatest of all Sorceress Knights!" She cackled as a young boy of no more than 12 kneeled before her.

"Yes my mother, I shall be the strongest!"

He looked up at her through the canopy, his deep red eyes piercing through the darkness that surrounded them. He stood and bowed his head, his short black locks moving with the movement.

"I must leave, Mother."

"Just a moment my son."

He bowed again. He placed his hands behind himself on his lower back in the parade-rest position and clanked as he did so. He wore simple shoulder armor and a metal sleeve on his left arm. His leather shirt and pants seemed a little too big for the young boy as they hung slack on him. The katana on his back fit his size however, unlike the rest of his garments. He kept his eyes focused on the spot in the canopy the woman's voice came from.

"Yes?"

"I felt as if I should give you a gift."

A dark red aura surrounded the young boy as he lifted from the floor his arms outstretched. He strained a bit, but then let the "gift" flow freely into him. He had never felt so much power before.

"There you are. Now my son, go off and become great."

"Yes mother." He bowed once again and turned leaving the room.

As he left the chamber the large double doors closed behind him and he headed out across the bridge that connected the tower with the rest of The Castle. It had been at least ten years since his mother gained Sorceress powers. He was just a little boy then, but once she gained the powers, she changed her name from Julia Caron to the name he had become accustomed to calling her, Ultemicia.

"Mother, I will make you proud. I, Maxamillian Caron, will be the greatest of Sorceress Knights. No one will stop me!"

He continued down the winding staircases of The Castle and out to the front foyer. He passed the Sphinxaur as he walked out the gigantic double doors and down the main stairs. He breathed in deeply as the smell of blood wafted up to him, how he loved that smell. The SeeD's had been trying to fight his mother for years now, and had yet to succeed. Wave after wave came at them, but he simply disposed of every SeeD that came with a smile on his face. There was one in particular that he had had a difficult time with, some boy named Cid Leonheart wielding a Gunblade. He had potential to be a great swordsman and actually put up a valiant effort to stop Max, but alas his skills were not enough to stop the Castle guardian. Ultemicia told him, before fighting the boy, that his father would be a threat in the future but not to dwell on it during the battle.

"I wonder why she told me that."

He sat upon the steps and sighed. He needed more SeeD's to "practice" with. Someone to fill his lust for blood. As if they had heard his thoughts, a wave of 20 White SeeD's approached him, various weapons in hand. He smiled as they drew near and stood, ready to take down every last one of them. He drew his sword and charged at the group of SeeD's smiling the whole while.

"Now you all die!" He said with a maniacal laugh.

With his weapon in one hand he rushed at them and punched the first SeeD after dodging his sword attack. The next SeeD attempted to hit him with his nunchuk but he jumped over the attack and stabbed downward through the attackers head. As a spear wielding SeeD attacked him mid-air, Max fell to the ground missing the attack, and in one smooth motion brought his sword up to slice him in half. The rest of the group backed off and surrounded him

"What's the matter?!" His voice had become more hoarse, and yet psychotic at the same time. "Are you afraid of me?! Come on, I challenge anyone to fight me!"

He stood and placed his sword back in its sheath on his back. He then lifted from the ground and began to chant.

"Fatum, sparsum, quod intereo!"

He raised his hand and focused his energy into a small black baseball sized orb. He smiled as he flung the ball into the ground beneath him. The SeeD's stepped back, but since the ball had disappeared, they continued to move towards Max, who still smiled.

"You SeeD's never learn." He paused for a moment. "Erumpo!!"

The ground below the SeeDs trembled slightly, then after a few seconds it exploded and engulfed them in black flames. Some of the remaining SeeD's not hit by the spell tried to down the flames with water, but that had no effect. Everything they tried only fed the fire.

"You idiots! Anything you try is futile! Your friends will die and soon so shall you." He cackled even louder and flew at the rest of the SeeDs and took each down in quick succession. He took a few minutes to breathe in the fresh scent of blood and sighed happily. The feeling after battle was like a high for Max, and he drank every bit of the power he felt.

"This group," he said after a few moments of taking in the battle. "was actually a challenge. They're getting stronger!"

He cackled as he headed inside once more.

"Mother!" He said with glee as he entered her Chamber. "I took care of the insects. They're getting bigger."

He walked to her canopy and kneeled on one knee, his head down.

"I hope I have met your approval."

"Yes my son." She rose behind the canopy and placed one hand upon Max's head. Her long and pointed fingers riffled through his hair. Even with their outward appearance, they proved to be quite gentle. "You have done well."

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And here we are, at the end of the first chapter. I'd really like to know what you all think, and if i should continue this. I hope you had as much fun reading it as i did writing it! _Vincent Sekod_


	2. Death of the Mind

Max stood before his mother once again the next morning ready to continue their plans to destroy all SeeDs. He bowed slightly and stepped back a bit before he kneeled before her.

"I am here." He bowed his head. "You summoned me?"

Still behind the white shroud, Ultemicia remained silent. An unusual occurrence compared to their everyday routine. He stood and walked towards her. When he neared the canopy and reached out to touch it, his hand flew back as a light covered her. Max covered his eyes as the light spread around the room covering all in its path. He could not move as the light began to cover him also.

"M-mother what is this!? Stop this please!"

The light had reached his neck by now and he panicked as it raced upwards. He attempted to raise his powers to stop the influx of the opposite powers but to no avail. They soon covered him completely, stayed there a second, and then shattered completely around the entire room and Max. No sooner had is dissipated than The Canopy opened to reveal the great Sorceress Ultemicia.

"My son." Her figure still shrouded by a slight light. "Welcome."

Ultemicia stepped down towards Max, her flowing cape following behind her. She moved the rest of the canopy from her horn-like protrusions, her slender, sharp fingers moving gently against the sheer fabric. Her face showed no sign of age and she looked no older than 30. Her piercing eyes saw straight to the soul of Max and, in a way, made him shudder to his core. Fear and, at the same time, admiration from seeing her flowed through him. Max did not know what he felt more, but it was truly the first time he had fully seen her instead of through her canopy. Her face revealed no hint of age, no possible wrinkle; flawless. Max kneeled before her and lowered his head. This was a rare treat to actually see his Sorceress face-to-face.

"Rise, my Son." She beckoned to him in a light airy tone. "You are not to kneel before me. You are worthy enough to stand in my presence."

He did so, but only after a moment's hesitation to compose himself. Ultemicia smiled at Max and walked towards him, her hand outstretched. He bowed his head and grabbed her hand with a light touch, then looked into her eyes. Once again, they entranced him with their black depth. He knew her heart had died long ago and her eyes showed the endless pit of hate behind them with no hint of hiding.

Her undying resolve to destroy the SeeD's only made Max want to follow her more.

"Mother," he began. "It has been many years since you have revealed yourself like this. Why have you done so?"

"Simple." She giggled, "I wanted to see how strong my son has become in these passing times."

Max bowed once again.

"I do not deserve this."

"Stop it you silly boy. Stand."

He followed her command with a nod.

"Mother… What was that light that engulfed me?"

She laughed a bit at his comment and walked past him towards the doors of her chamber.

"Silly boy, it is my gift to you." She began, "Haven't you always wanted more power than you had before?" she turned to him as the doors opened behind her out to a balcony. The sky showed a grey and stormy atmosphere. Tumultuous as the feelings Max had flooding through him about his own mother. "Now you have it and you are one step to fulfilling you destiny as my Knight."

"Yes mother." He bowed once again as Ultemicia turned away and walked out of the doors. The scene before her held a terrible sight. Several layers of dead and decaying SeeD corpses lay below her in a massive barren plain. All of them dispatched by her very own knight over the years. She laughed to herself a bit, she knew exactly what this would do to her young knight but he proved so useful to her plans, she just could not let him go. His mind would eventually break down due to all of this death and despair. Perhaps she could make use of that in the future, she thought to herself as she looked out upon the mass grave.

"More SeeD's!" She spoke to herself as Max joined her on the balcony. "Bring more SeeD's so that I may rid the world of them! Let me and my Knight rule this planet for the glories of Hyne!" She cackled as the storm above grew in rage, almost as if drawing its power from her mania.

Part of Max enjoyed this, he did not know why, but it relished in every dead SeeD lying in that barren battleground where he faught countless SeeD's while his mother watched from where they stood now. At some point he had been against fighting against the SeeD's, since he too was one at a time. Ultemicia told him of a SeeD much like him when he was younger, the great Seifer Almasy. He rose through the ranks of the SeeD, becoming the commander and leading the fight against Sorceress Hunters of the past. He had been the Holy Edea's Knight and stood beside her as she died and passed her powers onto his very own mother. He died soon thereafter when a rouge faction of his very own SeeD, lead by a traitor called Squall Leonheart, captured him and burned him at the stake. Ultemicia drilled this horrid tale into Max from the moment he could understand words, and his hatred of the SeeD grew from those very first days. Squall still breathed, however, one of the only SeeD not killed by either him or his mother. Every battle was a search for Max to find Squall and strike him down with his sword… straight to the heart. He wished to enjoy watching the light of life flow slowly out of the eyes of his most hated enemy.

Max shook his head a bit to clear it of such thoughts. He swore there was another "him" in himself. The thought frightened him. In battle, he sometimes had no idea of what had happened. He remembered facing the enemies, but not the actually fighting. He drew closer to the edge of the balcony near Ultemicia.

"Mother?"

"Yes my child?" she replied without looking at him.

"I shall always be your Knight and protect you."

Her plan had worked, now this poor twisted son of hers would not think twice about her orders.

"I know my son. Let us rebuild this world to suit us."

"Yes mother."

The sky darkened as Ultemicia cackled over the field of death.

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It took me FOREVER to finish this... and for that, I am extremely sorry. I really hope i haven't lost anyone to this story! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i did writing it! _Vincent Sekod_


	3. Children of SeeD's

As Dawn broke the next morning a roar of battle cries woke Max with a start. It shook the room in which he slept shattering a mirror as it fell from the wall. Max rose from his deep sleep and peered around for the source of the yells and found the door leading out to his own balcony shaking off its hinges. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"It's too early for this." He yawned a bit, pushed his oversized comforter away, and fell out of bed. "Ouch! I am not a morning person…"

Max pulled himself up from the floor and shuffled over to his clothing and armor hanging on the wall. He raised one lazy hand toward them and shot a small blue wave at them. The clothes rose and dressed him in a matter of seconds as did the armor a small while later. Max made his way down the steps toward the main hall, now even darker than usual, he turned and walked into the hidden kitchen behind the steps. Sphinxarura stood near the stove and looked up as Max entered.

"What shall it be my lord?"

"Black coffee… 5 lumps of sugar."

The guardian obliged him and Max took a few moments to enjoy the brew before him. After this short reprieve he nodded and made his way towards the main hall and sighed before pushing the doors open.

The roar of voices before him grew to an even higher level as he walked down the main steps to the flood of SeeD's. It had been a while since he had seen so many at one time, they usually came in small numbers.

"They must be getting desperate." Max thought. "I guess Squall is running out of options."

Max looked up at his attackers, his eyes now blazing red, and smirked as he drew his sword.

"You've all come to play with me, have you?" He laughed. "Then come at me!"

They came in waves of 20 or more, countless barrages of attacks and spells. Max hadn't had this much fun in years. He sliced and stabbed SeeD's left and right as he moved to the center of the group and to its leader. After the regular SeeD's had been disposed of by Max's sword, a group of White SeeD's stepped before him. He could have sworn he had eradicated them before but now he faced a group of five. They… looked familiar.

"Who are you?" He asked.

A single SeeD stepped forward as they pulled out some metal-knuckled gloves and put them on. She wore a simple White SeeD uniform that fit her more closely than uniforms of the past. She stepped into her fighting stance, one foot and fist forward. With a smile, much resembling a certain other A-rank SeeD fighter, she spoke.

"We are the White SeeD's of Balamb Garden. We fight in the names of our fallen mothers and fathers who have fallen before us." She paused for a second. "I am Rachel Dincht, and I speak for all of the Balamb White SeeD's."

This had become an interesting battle indeed.

"Well Ms. Dincht, it is my honor to make your acquaintance." He bowed a bit and then looked her dead in the eyes. "It is a shame it will be for such a short amount of time."

He rushed them at full speed, sword at his side. Max covered the 50 yard space between them in a matter of seconds, teleporting as he dodged the few regular SeeD's still in his path. The light "tap tap" as he did so proved the only warning the White SeeD's had as he attacked Rachel first. She shot back as he attempted his first slice across her midsection… nearly hit her. Perhaps his training wasn't as high as he hoped, either way, he had to destroy these parasites. He skidded to a halt as Rachel touched down directly in front of the group.

"Aren't we hasty." Said Rachel shaking off a bit of dust she accumulated on her landing. "It is customary to introduce oneself when engaging in battle, not all of us have done so. To my right," She said pointing to a small, rather skinny man wearing a long leather trench coat and cowboy hat. He carried a large set of Nunchuku and leaned on them while Rachel explained. "Is Jonathan Kinneas. Next to him." Continued Rachel. "Is Victor Trepp." The young man stood with a large metal chain wrapped around his neck and a rather uniform shirt with strange pink-colored accents. "On my left are, Victoria Leonheart" Rachel said as she pointed to a slight meek-looking girl in a familiar flowing blue dress-like garment. She carried a beautiful angel-winged Blaster Edge that he had probably gotten from her mother. "And last is Sophia Kinneas." The last girl spit out a toothpick as she turned towards Max and cocked the large shotgun in her hands. She too wore a cowboy hat and leather duster.

"Are you done now?" Asked Max now half-way asleep. "I came to fight, not talk."

"If that's what you wish, then you'll have it."

Rachel smiled and in an instant disappeared from sight as she rushed Max followed close behind by the rest of the White SeeD's. The first strike, however, was his as he swiped her away with a fire blast and charged the rest of the group.

"I'll save you for later." He chuckled.

Sophia began a barrage of shots as Victoria leapt into the air and released her Blaster Edge at Max as well. Max barely dodged the bullets flying at him and only by blocking with his sword could he deflect the other projectile weapon. Victor and Jonathan attacked in sync, when Sophia stopped shooting to reload, and struck Max on both shoulders, driving him to his knees by the force. He recovered a second later, however, and kicked Jonathan's feet from under him while sending a shockwave at Victor with his sword that pushed him back at least 20 yards as he blocked. He then turned to his fallen victim to find him right in front of him, his weapon and inch away from his face. The blow connected and Max flew across the battlefield landing with a sliding thud. Several drops of blood dripped from his, now broken, nose and he wiped them away with an annoyed grunt.

"Damn SeeD's" he muttered.

He had no time to regain his composure as soon a gloved fist came to meet his chin and send him, once again, into the air. He hit the ground with smack, flipped a bit and stood with his sword ready to attack. His breathing had become labored… how were these's SeeD's this strong!? Then he thought about his previous battle with Squall's son Cid and remembered the struggle he had with _one_ of the White SeeD's… This would be a long and hard battle. Max had not expected this at all.

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Ha HA!!!! A new chapter and it's full of both comedy and action. I told you it wouldn't be another year before i updated again lol. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as i did writing it! _Vincent Sekod_


	4. Save for Later

By the time Max rose from his crouched state, all five of the White SeeD's had surrounded him. As he stood, they readied their weapons. He knew this was not a very good situation, but everyone has something for these types of things. With his head down he chuckled a bit. His voice sounded different…

"You SeeD's are insane if you truly think you can stop me."

Max snapped his head up his eyes now glowing a dark crimson and cackled much like his mother. The White SeeD's stepped back a bit.

"Even now, you are afraid of me. I shall show you why I am to be feared… you pitiful SeeDs!!!!!"

Max stabbed his sword into the earth and front flipped onto it. He brought both hands together in front of him in large sweeping arcs at his side. When they joined the glow from his eyes reflected in a radiant blood-red light. The SeeDs attacked at once, but every blow merely bounced off of Max as his energy rose. Victoria and Sohpia fired directly at him together, but their attack simply ricocheted away. Both Victor and Jonathan too struck at Max with no effect. Rachel's punches, too, did no damage to Max as she unleashed a flurry of blows onto him. They all attacked in unison, connecting one powerful blow after the next, but once again were thwarted by Max's invulnerability. Soon the light passed from him to his sword and into the ground, where it disappeared.

"You all will die."

Max flipped off his sword and, as he came back down, slammed his fist into the end punching it down until only the hilt and handle could be seen. A single shockwave spread from this central point and hit the White SeeDs square on knocking them all back. This only lasted for a second as all but Rachel were drawn in closer to the blade. Somehow she stayed planted to her spot pinned down by some immense force. She tried to push against it with all her might only to find herself back in the dirt gasping for breath. This must be Max's energy, she thought to herself as she continued to fight against the downward thrust. The rest of the SeeD continued to struggle against the pull of the sword. Each one tried their hardest to pull against the sword and fight with everything they had. Both Victor and Jonathan attempted to wrap their weapons around the few large stones and tree stumps near them. Their safe anchors, however, gave out long before it made any difference. Victoria tried using the force of her gun to somehow slow her gravitation towards the sword handle, but that too proved in vain. Sophia had latched onto Victoria and had slammed her Blaster edge into the ground while it was still attached to her arm… it worked for a short while until her arm strength gave out and she relied on Victoria's plan to try and stop their movement. A pushing force of dark energy now joined the pulling force of the sword growing ever closer to each White SeeD. Despite their best efforts, in a matter of moments they were stuck fast to that central point where Max now levitated overhead.

"Deleo totus SeeDs."

He summoned a small glowing sphere in the palm of his hand over his head and with a slow, almost lackadaisical way brought his hand down and released the orb to the center of the White SeeDs. He knew there was no escape for them, yet he continued to watch as they tried to break from their final prison. The instant it made contact with the sword it absorbed into the handle and made its way to the ground.

The moments passed in what felt like ages to the resisting White SeeDs still plastered to the area directly around the sword handle. They too felt the enormous weight of the dark energy surrounding them as Rachel did and tried with all their might to break free of it, but that proved a futile effort. Rachel, only a few yards away, reached out for them, but could not move any farther from where she lay pinned to the earth, helpless. She tried once more to lift herself and, with every bit of her strength, Rachel strained to crouching on her knees. As if it were possible, even more forced came down upon her as she inched her way up to a one kneed kneel. Max hadn't expected her to show such resistance. By now the orb had reached its destination at the tip of the underground sword where it expanded into a brilliant white explosion devouring the four SeeDs near the handle and shooting upwards into the sky like a great fiery tempest. Max cackled once again as he watched them fade away into the sky. He enjoyed every agonizing expression they wore as they did so. He relished the feeling of power that overcame him as he realized the complete embarrassment this would cause Squall and is pathetic SeeDs. Four of his best fighters now turned into nothingness by a single man… Him.

Rachel screamed in terror as she witnessed her dear friends vaporized in an instant before her very eyes. The people she trusted her life with were now nothing but particles in the air, reduced to ash. Max soon floated back over to Rachel after the remaining regular SeeDs retreated back to the safety of the Garden several miles away. He landed in front of her and knelt down to her slightly pale face lifting his now ungloved hand to touch it gently. He savored the smooth touch of her warm flesh as he ran his fingers ever so lightly across her cheek. Max held her chin in his hands and examined the fair woman before him with amazing care to take in every tiny detail. He had never seen such utter perfection in anyone before, long brown hair, such beautifully formed lips, all this Max knew very little of. The glint of light in Rachel's light brown eyes caught him off-guard as he stared deeply into them and smiled.

"I told you I'd save you for later."

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I only posted the last chapter a little while ago... but i really didn't want to leave you guys on a limb this time. this is probably one of my favorite chapters so far. I hope you liked reading it as much as i did writing it!!! _Vincent Sekod_


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